Improvement in printing-presses



MLM

MPETERS. PHOTOMIHUGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. DV C.

v NiTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. GORDON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HVIPROVEM ENT IN PRINTING-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,l1l, dated January 7, 1862.

To ali whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. GORDON, of Brooklyn, Kings county, in the State of New York, have invented, made, and applied to use certain new and useful Improvements in Printing-Presses; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and correct description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this speciication, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my improved printing-press; Fig. 2, a top elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a transverse sectional view of the same, through line cr: in Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a view showing rollerarm employed; and Fig. 5, a sectional view of thefeed-table and vibrating platen employed.

In the drawings like parts of the invention are indicated by the same letters of reference.

The nature of my invention consists, first, in the use or employment of a paper tympansheet, one end of which shall be attached to and move with thenipper-arms, whilethe other or opposite end shall be so held that the paper tympan-sheet shall always be kept smooth either for the reception of the sheet to be printed and the proper presentation of such sheet to the form or types or for the delivery of suoli sheet after it is printed; second, in combining with a vibrating platen nipperarms, supporting and carrying sheet-taking nippers; also, in combining with these a tympan-sheet operating substantially as hereinafter shown; third, in combining with the feedtable the gages, constructed and operating as hereinafter described; fourth, in operating the vibrating inking-roller arms or roller-frame by the movement of the vibrating platen, as shown; fth, in operating the nipper-arms by the movement of the vibrating platen, as shown; sixth, in the means employed for a more perfect distribution of the ink, (a) combining with double revolving ink-distrib uting tables or disks a revolving ink-distributing cylinder, (b) in combining with these or with a single revolving ink-distributing table or disk the vibrating inking-roller arms or frame seventh, the peculiar construction. of the inking-roller frame or arms, as shown; eighth, in raising the nippers above the face-line of the platen, thus giving to the vibrating platen and feed-table the relative positions, as shown, to insure the delivery of the printed sheet.

To enable those skilled in the arts to make and use my invention,I will speak of its construction and operation.

`A A show a frame for supporting the operative parts of my improved printing-press, and B is a stationary bed in which the form or types are placed and held.

C is a platen supported by and rocking upon the shaft D.

E is a shaft passing through the back of the platen C, to which shaft E are attached the connecting-rods F, operated by the cranks G.

I-I shows the main or driving shaft, having upon one side the large cog-Wheel I, gearing into the pinion .I upon the iiy-Wheel shaft K, while upon the other side of the shaft II is the blank L, having cut upon its inner side the cam M, which cam M, through the leverconnection N, serves to operate the trip O, as hereinafter described.

At the upper part of the back of the platen C are the nipper-armsI), hung upon the centers Q, upon which they rock to and from the feedtable F. At the lower extremities of these nipper-armsP the rollers R are pivoted, which rollers R play in the stationary cams S upon the inner sides of the frame A A, the object of these stationary cams S being to guideand move the nipper-armsl? to and from the feedtable F when said nipper-arms l? are operated by tne motion of the vibrating platen C.

The nippers T and T are attached to 'the rod U, which rod U passes through the forward or upper ends of the Dipper-arms I. The under nippers T are made in the shape of a yoke, having for its center the rod U, upon which are attached the upper nippers T, one

end of the yoke running through the support Z, to which end is attached the crank-arm V with its roller WV. To the opposite end of the rod U is attached the crank-arm V with its roller W. The object of the crank-armV is upon the return movement of the nipper-arms P to impinge upon the bracket X and raise the nippers T and T with the printed sheet from the paper tympan-sheet C', thus admitting a volume of air between the paper tympan-sheet C and the printed sheet, and upon the further return movement of the nipperarms P the crank-arm V', with its roller W',

strikes upon the trip O, rising upon the same, opening the upper nippers T', and releasing the printed sheet, which sheet thus released and buoyed up by the air glides freely from the paper tympan-sheet C'.

a is a spring to hold. the nippers T and T' together, and b a spring to hold the nippers T and T' to the paper tympan-sheet C.

The nipper-arms P have hinged to their lower edge a gripper-frame A2, upon which are placed the grippers B2. This frame A2 may be provided with slots, through which slots bolts pass, and by lneans of these bolts with their nuts the grippers B2 may be held in any desired position, the slots in said frame A2 allowing the grippers B2 to be regulated, as may be desired. vThese grippers B2 are for the purpose of holding the sheet upon and to the paper tympan-sheet C' in order that it (the sheet) may be relieved in a proper manner from the form or types.

C shows a tympan-sheet of paper, one end of which is attached to the nippcr-arms P, directly under the nippers T and T', while its other or opposite end is attached to the roller D', which roller D'is fastened to and moves with thc vibrating platen C. An elastic cord or spring E' is wound around one end of this roller D', one end of which cord E' is fastcned to the roller D' and the other end to the y platen C. This cord or spring E' serves to wind up or roll up the paper tympan-sheet C.' upon the rollerD and give the proper tension and smoothness to the sheet C necessary for the receiving, carrying, printing, and deliveringof the sheet.

F' shows a feed-table upon which the sheet to be printed is placed in order that it (the sheet) may be taken therefroin by the nippers T and T. This feed-table F' is supported upon and by the rod G', upon which it vibrates. This feed-table F has attached to it the supports c, supporting the :rod H', by which rod H' the gages l' are held. These gages l' are bent or curved from their ends, against which the sheet is laid upward to the rod H', upon which they are held, their curve at its commencement running nearly parallel with -the feed-table F' and gradually rising from the feed-table F' until the gages l' are in line with the rod H', upon which they are held, the object of these gages I' being to straighten the edge of the sheet to be taken by the nippers T and T' should there be any upward curl of the edge of the sheet, as is frequently the case, and thus pg'esent the sheet properly and surely to the nippers T and T'.

`The rod H' has upon one end the crankarm J', which crank-arm J as the feed-table F' is depressed strikes upon the upright CZ, thus raising the gages I' and allo'wing the sheet to be taken from the feed-table F' by the nippers T and T'. This rod H' may be slotted and the gages l' held to the same by means of bolts and nuts, thus rendeijing the gages l' adjustable.

paper tympan- Directly over the bed B, and parallel with the face of the form or types, is placed the ink-distributing cylinder l. This cylinder 1 may be supplied with ink from a fountain in the usual way. Back of this ink-distributing cylinder l are placed an outer2 and an inner 3 revolving ink-distributing table or disk.

4 are arms for the purpose of carrying the inking-rollers forward and backward over the form or types and the ink-distributing surfaces 2, and 3 as said arms 4 rock or vibrate. These roller-arms 4 are connected together by a brace 5, and form, as it were, a frame. These roller-arms 4 rock upon the shaft H and are tied to and operated by the vibrating platen C by the connecting-piece 6.

The inking-roller is held in the arms 4 by the rods 7, which rods 7 are made to play freely in the grooves in the arms 4. Upon the lower ends of said rodsk 7 are the spiral springs 8 for the purpose of holding the inking-roller down upon the ink-distributing surfaces l, 2, and 3 and the form or types. The upper part of said rods 7 are squared and made to iit into corresponding recesses in the arms 4. This squared part of the rods 7 is made sufiiciently strong to bear the side strain caused by the inking-rollers in passing and repassing over the form or types, which side strain has heretofore been borne by the inkin g-roller arms or roller-frame being elongated and slotted, in which slots the ends of the inking-rollers haveA been made to play freely, while the springs were simply employed to hold the rollers securely in such slots.

Vhen desired to use more than one roller,

a saddle-piece 9 may be attached to the rods` 7, as shown in Fig. 4. The ink-distributing tables or disks 2 and 3 are operated by a ratchet P2, which ratchet P2 is in turn operated by the motion of the vibrating platen C through the roller-frame, while the ink-distributing cylinder l is made to vibrate, and may be driven by a belt or gearing, as desired.

Operation: We will suppose the form or types to have been placed upon the bed B, the sheet to be printed laid upon the feedtable F', against the gages l', the paper tympan-sheet C occupying the inclined position shown in Fig. 3, and the nippers T and T' in position to receive the sheet, the rollerarms 4 being at the lowest'point of their vibration-the bottom of the bed B. Motion being communicated to the press, the cam M upon the blank L, through the lever-connection N, commences to throw back the trip O, lowering the feed-table F', upon which table F the sheet is placed, thus bringing the sheet on a line with the upper face of the under nippers T, which nippers are raised above the face of the platen C. As the trip O continues its backward movement the uppernippers T' close upon the sheet, the feed-table F' continuing t0 drop until the crank-arm J strikes upon the upright d, raising the gages I. The vibrating platen C, through the cranks G, now commences its upward movement to- Ward the bed B, and the nipper-arms P, from their connection with the vibrating platen C, and guided by the stationary cams S on the inner sides of the frame A A, commence to descend toward the face of the vibrating platen C, carrying with them the nippers T and T', which nippers T T' draw the sheet under the gages I and from the table F. As the nipper-arms P commence to descend toward the Vface of the vibrating platen C the paper tympan-sheet C' is unwound from the roller D', and the sheet to be printed is drawn olf the table F' and falls upon the paper tympan-sheet C', and upon the continued movement of the platen C the nipper-arms P are thrown down until the nippers T and T', the paper tympan-sheet C', and the grippers B2 are brought into a line with the face of the platen C. The platen C continues to advance until an impression is given. During the upward movement of the platen C to the bed B the inking-rollers 4 have been carried up and over the form or types, on and over the distributing-cylinder l, and onto the revolving ink-distributing tables or disks 2 and 3. An impression having been taken, the vibrating platen C, thro ugh the cranks G, commences its return movement from the bed B. When the platen Chas moved a sufficient distance from the bed B to relieve the sheet from the form or types, the nipper-arms P, nippers T and T', and gripper-frame A2 begin to ascend in their return movement toward the feed-table F', and the elastic cord E', attached to the roller D and platen C, as shown, causes the roller D' to turn and wind up the paper tympan-sheet C'. The movement of the nipper-arms P continuing, the crank-arm V, with its roller IV, attached to the yoke U, (upon which yoke Uare the nippers T and T',) impinges upon the bracket X, raising the nippers T and T', with the printed sheet, from the paper tympansheet C' ,and admitting avolumeof airbetween the printed sheet and the paper tympan-sheet C'. The paper tympan-sheet C', attached to and operated by the nipper-arms P and roller D', has now assumed the inclined position shown in Fig. 5 necessaryfor the deliveryof the printed sheet, and the crank-arm V', with its roller W', strikes upon the trip O and rises upon tliesame, by which operation the upper nippers T' are opened, and the printed sheet is released from their grasp. In Fig. 5 the sheet is shown placed upon the feed-table F against the gages I', to be taken by the nippers T and T'; second, laid upon the paper tympan-sheet C' and in the act of being presented to the bed B, iu order that an impression may be taken, and, third, in the act of being delivered after the paper tympan-sheet C' has assumed the inclined position requisite for such delivery, the sheet in each position being designated by the blue line. During the return movement of the platen C the rollers 4 are carried from the revolving inkdistributing tables or disks 2 and 3, on and over the ink distributing cylinder l taking their supply of ink therefrom, the ink having been previously distributed upon the same and at the time of the delivery of the printed sheet, as shown, have very nearly reached the lowest point of their vibration. The succeeding sheet to be printed, having been laid upon lthe feed-table F' against the gages I', and the nippers T and T having been raised above the platen C, is taken from the table F' by the nippersT and T', and the operation previously described is repeated.

It is well known that in job printing paper is used extensively for tympan-sheets, and there is nothing new in its use for such purpose. I do not therefore claim the use of paper for a tympan-sheet, save that such paper tympan-sheet should be used in the manner and for the purpose herein fully described.

It is of the greatest importance that the tympan-sheet used in my improvement should be of paper. Its cost is triling. It may be put on and taken off the press almost instantly. In printing a job already printed upon one side upon the reverse or opposite side the sheet may be instantly changed to prevent any and all oit'set. An impression is often given accidentally upon the tympansheet and may occur many times in the Working of every job. The importance, then, of changing the rolling tympan often and at a slight cost must be apparent, for were I to use cloth for a tympan thus operating the frequent and constant change necessary would add so greatly to the expense of running the press that the objection would almost be fatal.

The labor to be performed by this rolling tympan-sheetis so slight that the thinnest and most delicate sheet of paper may be used for this purpose, tissue paper being sufiiciently strong to perform the requisite duty.

It will further be seen that the vibrating platen is so connected with the roller-frame and with the nipper-arms that they are operated by the movement of such vibrating platen, and that the ink-distributing tables are in turn operated by the rocking rollerframe, thus tying all these parts, as it Were, together, the crank-motion imparted to the platen causing the whole of these motions from the simple vibratory movement given to the platen.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

l. The use or employment of a paper tympan-sheet operating substantially as set forth, for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the nipper-arms prostantially as described, also these with a vibrating platen.

5. The combination of the nippers and nipper-arms With the feed-table, operating substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

6. The combination of the feed-table with gages constructed and operating substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination of the stationary bed and the revolving ink-distributing table with the platen, operating substantially as described.

8. Operating the vibrating inking-roller arms or roller-frame by or through the motion of the vibrating platen.

9. Operating the nipper-arms provided with the sheet-taking nippers by or through the motion of the vibrating platen.

10. The combination of the ink-distributing tables or disks or a single ink-distributing GEO. P. GORDON.

In presence of- A. TURNER, A. SIDNEY DOANE. 

